Mission Drive-In mural proposal draws protest

Ramon Vasquez, left, speaks at a protest concerning the City of San Antonio's plan to recreate the historic marquee at the old Mission Drive-In. With him, left to right, are other residents and south side artists, Chista Cantu, Victor San Miguel, Jesse Trevino, and Elizabeth Rodriguez.

Public Art San Antonio is coordinating the recreation of the historic Mission Drive-In marquee mural, which was orginally installed around 1948. Courtesy photo

Photo By BOB OWEN/San Antonio Express-News

South Side residents and artists, including Jesse Trevino, gather at the old Mission Drive In to protest the plan by the City of San Antonio to recreate the historic marquee at the drive in.

Photo By Harry Thomas

Mission Drive-In

Photo By lisa krantz/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

METRO - Samantha Gonzales, 13, is followed by a stray dog as she passes the Mission Drive-In while walking to a store with her family on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. LISA KRANTZ/lkrantz@express- news.net

Photo By SHAMINDER DULAI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Metro -- Demolition crews tear down he outlying bricks and fence along the old Mission Drive-In Tuesday morning to prepare the property for construction of a new library, office and retail space. The marquee screen in the background however will be preserved and incorporated into the 26 acre re-developed site as an amphitheater. SHAMINDER DULAI/sdulai@express-news.net

Photo By SHAMINDER DULAI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Metro -- Demolition crews tear down he outlying bricks and fence along the old Mission Drive-In Tuesday morning to prepare the property for construction of a new library, office and retail space. The marquee screen in the background however will be preserved and incorporated into the 26 acre re-developed site as an amphitheater. SHAMINDER DULAI/sdulai@express-news.net

Photo By SHAMINDER DULAI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Metro -- Rey Ramirez, a construction worker with JR Ramon and Sons Demolition, tosses a block of concrete into a trench during the demolition of Mission Drive-In Tuesday morning. "There's alot of history here," Ramirez said as he kicked broken bricks into a pile. "I used to come here as a kid, and now I'm tearing it down... that's the way it goes I guess." SHAMINDER DULAI/sdulai@express-news.net

Photo By NICOLE FRUGE/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Kids watch the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at the Mission Drive-In, Friday, August 24, 2007. The drive-in reopened after being vandalized earlier this year. The movie theater opened in March 1948 and is a South Side landmark. Nicole Fruge/San Antonio Express News

Photo By NICOLE FRUGE/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

1408 plays at the Mission Drive-In, Friday, August 24, 2007. The drive-in reopened after being vandalized earlier this year. The movie theater opened in March 1948 and is a South Side landmark. Nicole Fruge/San Antonio Express News

Photo By NICOLE FRUGE/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

John Cusak makes a start turn during 1408 playing at the Mission Drive-In, Friday, August 24, 2007. The drive-in reopened after being vandalized earlier this year. The movie theater opened in March 1948 and is a South Side landmark. Nicole Fruge/San Antonio Express News

Photo By NICOLE FRUGE/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Jason Rodriguez, 4, waits in line at the Mission Drive-In, Friday, August 24, 2007. The drive-in reopened after being vandalized earlier this year. The movie theater opened in March 1948 and is a South Side landmark. Nicole Fruge/San Antonio Express News

Photo By NICOLE FRUGE/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Kids wait for the show at the Mission Drive-In, Friday, August 24, 2007. The drive-in reopened after being vandalized earlier this year. The movie theater opened in March 1948 and is a South Side landmark. Nicole Fruge/San Antonio Express News

Photo By CHARLES BARKSDALE/FILE

THEN AND NOW 010404 - Mission Drive-In turned into a flea-market in this Dec. 1984 file photo.

Metro-Daily-Jeannie Lozano, 28, and husband Rudy Lozano, 36, who have been patrons of the Mission Drive-In in San Antonio for ten years, watch the Mummy Returns Friday night. About 150 carfuls of people turned out for the soft opening.(San Antonio Express-News Photo By Maria J. Avila)

Photo By Maria J. Avila/EN

Metro-Daily-Bill Bolling does some electrical work at the Mission Drive-In in San Antonio Friday night.(San Antonio Express-News Photo By Maria J. Avila)

Photo By Maria J. Avila/EN

Metro-Daily-Jason Spoon, 20, of Houston and his Uncle Randy Kelly, 32, of San Antonio scoot up some chairs to watch the trailers before the featured the Mummy Returns at the Mission Drive-In in San Antonio Friday night. About 150 carfuls of people turn out for the soft opening.(San Antonio Express-News Photo By Maria J. Avila)

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Standing in the misting rain in front of the old Mission Drive-In marquee, a group of Latino activists and artists Monday denounced a city proposal to re-create the original artwork on the façade of the historic outdoor theater.

Installed in the late 1940s, the mural depicted Mission San José as well as the images of two men wearing sombreros — one sleeping against a wall, another posed with a burro.

Protesters described them as demeaning and stereotypical.

“Latinos are not asleep,” said Gabriel Velasquez, a District 3 member of the city's Cultural Arts Board and an organizer of the press conference. “We are mayors of cities; we are doctors, lawyers, astronauts and teachers.”

“We cannot regress by allowing a painting from the old days to show us as less than we really are,” he said.

Activists equated the images to other offensive 20th century figures, such as the Frito Bandito and Little Black Sambo.

Felix Padrón, head of the city's Office of Cultural Affairs, characterized the criticisms as part of a misunderstanding of city processes, adding that the finished work will not necessarily include every element of the original marquee.

The marquee mural is a part of a preservation and neighborhood redevelopment project that includes a plaza to be completed this summer. The marquee remains blank for now.

At issue is an Office of Cultural Affairs request for proposals, or RFP, a document that describes the marquee project and lists requirements for potential artists or companies to follow.

City officials said an RFP, by its nature, doesn't assume that a project will be completed as described. The contract winner is asked to document community input as part of the RFP process, among other requirements.

To advance the project, said Jimmy LeFlore, head of Public Art San Antonio in the Office of Cultural Affairs, “we have to have documentation of the input and a clear reaction to whether the community is interested in historic accuracy, or whether we can explore other approaches.”

If the RFP was alarming, it's “because we have no other way of really being clear and transparent of what is required,” he said.

LeFlore said the purpose of an RFP is to advertise the project and hear from those qualified to do the work.

The city received four applications, he said, and expects to select a contractor that can do the job for the estimated $160,000 budget.

Velasquez said the city's intent seemed clear in the RPF, especially since a photograph of the original marquee appears on its front page.

“Placing a derogatory, stereotypical and demeaning illustration on the cover sheet of an RFP is not only unacceptable, but offensive,” he said. It “depicts a Mexican asleep under his sombrero against the wall of Mission San José.”

When finished, the former outdoor theater will serve as a venue for community and cultural events. The Mission Marquee Outdoor Plaza is expected to be completed this summer and sits adjacent to the Mission Branch Library, a $7.4 million facility that opened last year.

In all, the drive-in's 26 acres are part of a redevelopment plan.

Padrón said his department is “sensitive to the issues being raised” and doesn't believe the offending images will be incorporated into the marquee, “given the concerns of the community.”

“At end of the day,” he said, “we will probably introduce a new mural.”